ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 9, 2021

Scott Spinelli

Boston College Eagles

Postgame Press Conference

Duke 86, Boston College 51

Q. Just talk about kids like Makai and DeMarr that will be coming back next year. What can you say about the kids that will be coming back for a new coach next year?

SCOTT SPINELLI: Well, first of all, how proud we all are of the kids in terms of the effort they put forth. This obviously has been a difficult time for them. Like we talked about, they really were engaged in practice and working hard, and it wasn't lack of effort. For the most part, these guys gave everything that they had. First and foremost, I wanted to tell you that.

Second thing, as far as the individual players, all the younger guys that are in the program that are coming back, they need to commit themselves. This was a very tough off-season, not just for us, for everybody. We didn't get a lot of individual workouts like most teams, nor practice time. And a lot of these young kids need to get in the gym, skill development. The game is -- as you know, it's come down to being able to pass, dribble, and shoot at all positions. And some of the sloppiness in their individual games collectively hurts the team, and I think they've got to get better in all areas.

Today it was glaring. We didn't shoot the ball well. Duke played phenomenal, they played fantastic. I thought our guys played extremely hard, and give Duke credit, they're hungry, and they stepped up and they made a lot of shots today.

Just in terms of those younger guys, to your question, it's all about -- we've had this motto that we've always kind of followed: Great teams are made in season, great players are made in the off-season. So this is a big off-season for those guys to all get in the gym as well as the weight room and to really commit to becoming a great individual player.

Q. A comment on the disparity in the three-point shooting today; Duke just couldn't miss out there.

SCOTT SPINELLI: Yeah, they shot the ball well. You've got to give them credit. Look, we've all been around teams at this time of the year, and the hungry team -- and Duke was very, very hungry today. You've got to tip your hat to them. They made some tough ones. I thought our guys played hard. We got in rotations a few times and still contested shots, high hand, and they still made them. That's the sign of a team that is hungry, that they wanted to win, and you've got to give them a lot of credit, to be honest with you.

They made shots. We missed a lot of opportunities there. I thought when we got to within 12 in the second half -- they had a couple offensive rebounds, those 50/50 balls. Again, this time of year in a conference tournament, if you want to win, you've got to come up with those.

Give Duke a lot of credit; they played extremely well, and tip your hat to them.

Q. Obviously you missed Steffon Mitchell. This is a game where he would have been able to help you out, no question about it. I imagine it must be so disappointing for a guy who played so well for so long for BC, for Steph to not be able to be out there. If you can just talk about what his absence meant today and what his career has meant for BC over the last four years.

SCOTT SPINELLI: Well, I mean, first of all, his career. Steph has had a career here for four years. We talked about this on Senior Day. Again, being from this area, I think specifically Massachusetts, we all appreciate those guys that bring it every day, those guys, those players that play to win, they play every possession with unbelievable effort. He's that ham-and-egg type guy that we kind of all in this area especially appreciate. You can't help but root for him.

As far as his absence, look, it was an opportunity for other guys to step up, and we obviously missed him, but at the same time other guys had chances, too, to step up.

Steph should hold his head high. He's done a lot of great things here at Boston College, off the court also. But on the court, he'll be missed for his blue collar, his tenacity, his effort and his desire to win.

Q. To put into perspective the last couple of weeks and what they've been like for everybody to go through, coming out of the COVID pause and having to get back on to the court and travel all over the place, how have these last couple of weeks been like for you guys to go through?

SCOTT SPINELLI: Well, first of all, I think the kids deserve a lot of credit. We've got great character kids, and these guys really bought in and they rallied. We had a chance here to win a couple games. We had a big win over Notre Dame and had a chance to win at Miami, and so they were really engaged and getting better at practice every day, and they were playing to win.

The kids deserve a lot of credit for really coming together through adversity and really continuing to get better every day in practice. They were all bought in. You can't help but root for these guys because they are kids that are going to be successful moving forward in whatever they choose to do, each and every one of them. They're quality young man, and you can't help but respect those guys in terms of what they had to go through this year.

Some of those kids were in multiple isolation situation in COVID protocol. You can imagine being a college kid or a high school kid or anybody for that matter that has to be in isolation and then come back and have to compete at this level with all the change and the adversity. Again, it's not just our team, it's kids everywhere. You've got to give them a lot of credit for their perseverance and determination. You've got to tip your hat to all these guys. Just great, great character kids.